Exerciser



July 9,1935. W, D, FULLER wmwz EXERCISER Filed Aug. 8 1952 +3 uimmmsgm3% MM y W Patented July 9, 1935 UNITED STATES 'P-ATLEN ot-Fr es a fum Vv V .EXEBClSER p William 1). F ra, s ri gfielagolii j V ppuc ub August8.1932,Swam -621,888, 12Claims. (o1, zit- 52) This inventionrelates toan "exercising device especially adapted for use of children,;andmoreparticularly tora. spring tensioned. oscillating; carrierjorseat. to bepropelled'tozand fro by swaying motion of the body of the occupant.Toafforjd attractive appearance and to hold the interest of children:the *carrierorseat is-provided with a facsimile horse head, 'thusproducing a" familiar -hobby'horseeffect, although it is to beunderstood thatflother figures or shapes may be substituted forthe-horse-head design, or that [such feature maybe-entirely omittedespecially'upon devices ofilarger-size adapted-for older persons, andthat/,1thEBBfOI'GybhG present invention is not limited to the particulardesign illustrated.

The object ofthe invention isto; provide an exercising device ofsimplegcharacter and construction, capable of being economicallymanufactured, possessing uniform to; and fro motion easily actuated butrequiring therefor beneficial muscular effort of the operator, ofpleasing "appearaneeyand :unlikelyto. get outof repair. r

,;A further object of theiinvention' is to provide a construction.affording arelatively-long low to and. fro curvilinear motion-against a:yielding resistance, first in one direction and then in the other. a

.Afurtherobject of the invention-is to. provide .at fixed guidingmeansforthetraveling carrier .or seatiuponwhichthe carrier or seat rollsfirst in one direction and then .in the other. t .Afurther. object ofthe invention is to provide improved yield-ingresistance to thetoiandffro motion,. and to provide .tfor varying. the tensionandreaction effect of such yielding resistant devices. v v V i V A.further object ofthe inventionis to provide vacurvilinear track having.a radius somewhat greater than the height of the track above the floor,and to provide retractive tension springs yieldinglyf resisting the toand fro movement of thecarrier; or seat upon such track. Affnrtherobjiectpf the invention is to provide ahobby horsetype of "devicesubstantial-ly as "shown and. described. V

.With therabove primary and 7 other incidental ob c s i vi w as wi r fappear i t e specification, the invention c'onsistsof the'ifeaa I tnrjesof constructionythe;parts and combinations therepi andfthe" mode ofoperatiom or their je quiv'alenits, gas hereinafter described and set.fcrtlrin thef c'laims. g] Referring to the tdrawing;;wherein is shownthe n e rrefiibe i bri uslrne "n e sary th only form of embodiment ofthe invention;- Fig; 1 is a perspective view .of--the assembledexercising as vice, forming the. subject :matter hereof. Fig. -2 is aside elevation partiygin section, illustrating the relative proportionsof the-parts and 'showing by solid lines the-seat-orcarrier in itsmedialor normal position; and by: dotted lines the carr'ieraactuated tojgonelimit :of its path pf-travel against the tension of the-retractingspring. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional viewon'line 3+;-:;3;,of Fig.2. im

Like parts. are indicated by similar characters of reference throughoutthe several views Referring to .the drawing, [is a base orplatthe floor,these terminalrests .or supports.. 2..are 7 preferably, though nothecessarilmprovided with rubber. feet orbuttons on their under side..EX- tending from end,to-.,er1'd of-the base and. connected thereto; attheir extremities are, two par}- allel curvilinear rods.;3-3. disposed.in'. laterally spaced relation. and. affording an arcuatetra k uponwhichv theseator carrier reciprocates' vto and. fro. While the, trackrods 3, which areflri'gid or. unyielding, are shown in, the drawing .ascomprising segments of. regular. or uniform, curvature, thesecurvilinear track rods .may be, variously shaped, or! the curvaturethereof may be lirllll'liform to give different eifect. The. rigid trackrods 3, as illustrated, fare pv fQ ortioned to aiford a broad low arch,.the radius of which is of somewhat greater extent than the height ofsuch arch above the base I. i

Mounted ,upon the archshaped track members 3 for to and fro travelingmotion is a seat or carrierjd having dependent side or skirt portions 5which form, in effect, an invertedbox. Mounted interiorly of the carrierbeneath the seat 41 and adjacent to the forward and rear endsthereof,are transverse shafts Qcarrying grooved'rol lers 1 engaging andtraveling upon the" parallel track rods 3. At the forward end thedependent side member or skirt portionfidsextended downwardly and;forwardly into parallel} arms "'ld which any a. transverse rod 8 formingfoot rests atoppo'site sides of the device. A facsimile horse head 9 orothersuitablefigure ismounted at the forward end of the seat or carrierandis provided a transverse :rod IU forming handle :bars to be graspedby the operator.

Located medially upon theplatform'or' balsef l' beneath' the arcua-tetrack bars "3' is vertically disposed plate or attachment bracket i2having therein a series of spaced holes or notches l3 for the engagementof a pair of helical retractile springs I 4, the opposite ends of whichare connected respectively with the transverse shaft 6 of the carrier.The springs M are divergently disposed relative to each other and to theperpendicular. By engaging the lower ends of the springs M in differentholes or notches 13 of the attachment bracket I 2, the relation of thesprings to each other andto the traveling carrier may be varied therebyvarying the resistance and their retractive action.

The operator, sitting upon the seat 4 with his feet resting upon thetransverse foot rests 8, by swinging his body to and fro and therebyoverbalancing the device first in one direction and then in the other,causes the carrier or seat to roll to and fro upon the track rods 3. Thecarrier is held to the rods 3 in its travel movement by the retractivesprings l4 which are thereby placed under tension. The springs arealternately tensioned unequally. The curvature of the rods '3 is suchthat as the carrier or seat travels forwardly and downwardly, theforward spring is subjected to greater tensioning strain than the rearspring, and upon reverse movement, as the seat or carrier travelsdownwardly and rearwardly, the rearmost spring is subjected to thegreater tension. The retractive movement of the springs materiallyassists in returning the carrier or seat upwardly upon the arch shapedtrack rods 3 to its normal elevated medial position, beyond which themomentum will carry the operator and seat in a continued downwardmovement, first in one direction and then in the other. The movement ofthe carrier 4 with respect to the support may be referred to as agliding movement wherein the carrier travels through a pathsubstantially parallel to the curvature of the tracks.

While various methods of securing the arcuate track rods to the platformor base may be utilized, as a simple and economical method ofattachment, the ends of the rods are screw threaded and passedvertically through the base or plat form I and preferably also throughthe transverse outrider members 2 and are secured by spaced nuts uponsuch threaded portions at opposite sides of the base or platform.

As before mentioned, the device may be constructed in various sizes, theshape of the arcuate track rods 3 may be varied, and the horse headdesign may be entirely omitted or other designs of standard to carry thehandle bar may be substituted.

From the above description it will be apparent that there is thusprovided a device of the character described possessing the particularfeatures of advantage before enumerated as desirable, but whichobviously is susceptible of modification in its form, proportions,detail construction and arrangement of parts without departing from theprinciple involved or sacrificing any of its advantages.

While in order to comply with the statute, the invention has beendescribed in language more or less specific as to structural features,it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specificfeatures shown, but that the means and construction herein disclosedcomprise the preferred form of several modes of putting the in ventioninto effect, and the invention is therefore claimed in any of its formsor modifications within the legitimate and valid scope of. the ppendedclaims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, a support including avertically disposed convex guide track of substantially uniformcurvature, a carrier having rollers mounted thereon engaging said guidetracks for to and fro gliding motion up and down the opposite sides ofthe convex guide alternately, retractile tensioned springs spaced apartin tandem relation in the direction of travel of the carrierinterconnecting the carrier with the support in approximate relationwith the vertical radius of the convex guide track and subject to to andfro swinging motion in unison with the travel of the carrier, saidsprings being simultaneously tensioned by the movement of the carrier ineach direction.

2. In a device of the character described, a support vertically disposedconvex tracks, a traveling carrier mounted above the tracks for to andfro gliding motion, springs swingingly mounted at approximately midlength of the range of movement in tandem relation relative to thedirection of travel of the carrier, each yieldingly resisting themovement of the carrier in each direction to different degree andswinging to and fro in unison with the motion thereof.

3. In a device of the character described, a support including avertically disposed rigid curvilinear track of uniform convex contourand comprising substantially a segment of a circle, a seat mountedthereon for travel motion to and fro past the crown of the convex trackand down the opposite side thereof alternately, and a pair of upwardlydivergently disposed tensioned springs arranged in tandem relation inthe direction of the travel motion and fixedly attached at one endbeneath the track and attached in more widely spaced relation at theiropposite ends to the carrier against the yielding resistance of whichthe carrier is movable first in one direction and then in the other,said springs being subject to swinging motion in unison with the to andfro movement of the seat and simultaneously tensioned to differentdegree by the movement of the seat in each direction, the relativetension of the springs being reversed at each alternation of thedirection of movement of the seat.

4. In a device of the character described, a support including an archshaped track, a carrier mounted upon the convex side of the track for toand fro gliding motion thereon, said carrier including handle bars and afoot rest, a pair of helical tension springs disposed in spaced relationaligned with the direction of travel of the carrier adjustably securedat one end of each beneath the track for adjustment in the direction oftravel of the carrier, the other end of each of the springs beingattached to the carrier, and the advance spring in the direction ofadvancement exerting retractive movement on the carrier as it approachesthe extremity of its path of travel.

5. In a device of the character described, a support including anupright arch shaped continuous track, a carrier mounted upon the convexside of the track for to and fro gliding motion thereon, said carrierincluding handle bars and a foot rest, a pair of divergently disposedhelical tension springsdisposed in. tandem relation in the direction ofmovement of the carrier adjustably secured beneath the track foradjustment in the direction of the path of travel of the carrierindependently of each other, the opposite ends of the springs beingattached to the carrier and simultaneously exerting unequal retractiveten- 75 sion thereon as the carrier approaches the limit of its travelfirst in one direction and then in the other.

6. In a device of the character described, a support including anupright convex track, a carrier mounted for to and fro gliding motionthereon, a longitudinally disposed attachment bracket on said support,and a pair of helical tension springs disposed in tandem spaced relationaligned with the direction of travel motion of the carrier secured atone end to the carrier and having their opposite ends adjustably engagedwith the bracket in spaced upwardly diverging relation with each otherand simultaneously tensioned to unequal degree by the movement of thecarrier whereby the advance spring-in the direction of movement willexert the greater retractive movement upon the carrier.

7. In a device of the character described, a support including a pair ofparallel upright arch shaped rigid track members, a carrier includinghandle bars and a foot rest, rollers mounted upon the carrier andengaging the convex side of the parallel rigid track members for to andfro gliding motion, and springs simultaneously yieldingly resisting themovement of the carrier differentially as it approaches the limits ofits range of travel in each direction, said springs being mounted forswinging motion to and fro past vertical position in unisonwith thereciprocatory movement of the carrier.

8. In a device of the character described, a support including a pair ofparallel upright arch shaped rigid track members, a carrier includinghandle bars and a foot rest, rollers mounted upon the carrier andengaging the convex side of the parallel rigid track members for to andfro gliding motion, and a pair of resilient retracting memberssimultaneously tensioned to different degree by the movement of thecarrier first in one direction and. then in the other, said retractingmembers being aligned in the direction of travel of the carrier.

9. In a device of the character described, a base, a pair of uprightarch shaped rigid parallel track bars secured thereto, a reciprocatorycarrier including handle bars and a foot rest, rollers on said carrierengaging the convex side of the track bars for to and fro glidingmotion, a pair of divergently disposed retractive springs arranged intandem relation aligned with the direction of travel of the carrier andattached at their lower ends of the base and attached at their upperends in spaced relation to the carrier, said spring simultaneouslyresisting the movement of the carrier first in one direction and then inthe other.

10. In a device of the character described, a supporting structureincluding an upright rigid arch shaped track having a radius of greaterextent than the altitude of such track, a traveling carrier mounted uponthe convex side of the track for to and fro motion on the track, saidcarrier having a foot rest and handle bars, and a helical tension springhaving one end attached beneath the track in proximate relation to itsvertical radius for to and fro swinging motion in unison with thegliding motion of the carrier to.

which its other end is attached, said spring being placed under tensionby the travel movement of the carrier upon the track away from medialposition in either direction, and tending to return the carrier to suchposition for further movea ment therebeyond under momentum against thetension of the spring.

11. In a device of the character described, a base, a pair of rigidparallel upright arch shaped track rods of uniform regular curvaturecomprising substantially segments of a circle carried thereby, atraveling carrier having handle bars and foot rests, rollers on thecarrier engaging the convex side of thetrack rod for to and fro glidingmotion, and swinging retractive means pivotallymounted eccentrioally inrelation with track members, a traveling carrier mounted thereon for toand fro gliding motion, and a pair of retractive springs disposed intandem relation aligned with the direction of travel of the carrier,each having one end fixed within the area I enclosed by the upright archshaped track members and in eccentric relation with the center thereofand the other ends attached to the carrier, which by their retractivetendency hold the carrier upon the track members and simultaneouslyyieldingly resist to different degree its travel motion in alternatingdirections thereon.

WILLIAM D. FULLER,

